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PI SCOOPLET ... LEMAN EXITING RULES TO LAUNCH FIRM: Veteran House Rules Committee staffer Rachael Leman is leaving her position as deputy staff director for policy and strategic communications to start a consulting firm, Leman Strategies. Leman, who has served for a decade on the panel, will be based for the next two years in Okinawa, where her husband, Brig Gen. Paul Kennedy, is deploying as commander of the Third Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Leman plans to provide political analysis and strategic messaging services for clients in the East Asia Region, with a particular focus on the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership talks. Clients include Annenberg-Dreier Commissionat Sunnylands, which is working to bolster economic, institutional and cultural ties among the nations of the Pacific region. Leman's former boss, ex-Rep. David Dreier, is serving as chairman of the commission.

CAIRNCROSS JOINS FELLOW FORMER RNC CHIEF COUNSELS: Sean Cairncross, former chief counsel at the Republican National Committee, is joiningthe law firm Holtzman Vogel Josefiak as a partner. Most recently Cairncross served as deputy executive director and general counsel at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. With Cairncross’s addition, Holtzman Vogel Josefiak includes three former RNC chief counsels, two former NRSC general counsels and campaign expertise at the firm that specializes in election law, political compliance and representing tax exempt organizations.

TECH STARTUPS LAUNCH IMMIGRATION CAMPAIGN: Engine Advocacy, a political coalition of tech startups, is launching "Keep Us Here" — a campaign to push for comprehensive immigration reform. The effort is focusing its first big push on June 18 as a "Keep Us Here" day of action. Partial list of those involved: Consumer Electronics Association, Silicon Valley Bank, Partnership for a New American Economy, Voto Latino, Steve Case's Revolution and Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

GOOD WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, where it's been 348 years since the first New York City mayor took office. The English captured the city — then called New Amsterdam — in 1664 from the Dutch. They promptly renamed it New York. Gov. Richard Nicolls appointed Thomas Willett the city's mayor on June 12, 1665. For the next century and a half, the city's mayors were appointed, not elected. It wasn't until 1834 that the city had the right to popularly elect its leader. Send all your lobbying and campaign finance news, gossip, tips and scoops to btau@politico.com and apalmer@politico.com. And follow us on Twitter at @ByronTau and @apalmerdc.

KASOWITZ HIRES RIDDLE, OPENS D.C. LOBBY SHOP: — Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman has hired former Joe Lieberman staffer Clarine Nardi Riddle. Riddle — a former Connecticut state attorney general — will launch the firm's Washington D.C. office and government affairs practice. She served as Sen. Lieberman's chief of staff in the Senate. Lieberman also recently joined Kasowitz as senior counsel.

COVINGTON FETES KYL, BERMAN: Covington & Burling held an event Tuesday at the Hay Adams in honor of two high profile recent additions to its team: former Sen. Jon Kyl and former Rep. Howard Berman. Public policy and government affairs group chair Dan Bryant and vice chair Holly Fechner feted the two new hires in front of a crowd of downtowners and Hill types. Berman joked that it was an honor to finally work for a law firm that never would have even talked to him when he graduated from law school. Spotted: Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), and many others.

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SWEETEST FLY-IN EVER, REDUX: Candy makers are back on Capitol Hill this week — their second time in as many months. Confectionery makers are back in Washington this week to push members of the House to reform the sugar program in the 2013 farm bill. They’re in town as part of a National Confectioners Association fly-in event. The last fly-in event was in May.

ASIA-PACIFIC BUSINESS GROUP FETES MEMBERS: Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Reps. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) received the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce's leadership awards Tuesday. The annual awards were given to lawmakers who led the effort to introduce legislation enabling the APEC Business Travel Card for U.S. citizens, which allows expedited visa processing and designated airport travel lanes.

CHAMBER, RESTAURANT, GROCERS ALL HIRE OUTSIDE FIRMS: Three big trade association have all hired outside firms. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hired Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to lobby on immigration reform. The National Restaurant Association has inked Capitol Legislative Strategies on the same issue. Also, the Grocery Manufacturers Association has hired Elmendorf Ryan to lobby on grocery issues in the farm bill.

DISTILLERS NIGHT OF COCKTAILS: The Distilled Spirits Council hosted A Taste of Fine Spirits and Cocktails Tuesday night at Longview Gallery. The event was part of the group's fly-in, which brought in 30 members on the Hill and at the reception. The trade association met with about 100 lawmakers with their top priority the federal excise tax on distilled spirits. Participating brands and distillers included Bacardi, Beam, Diageo, Patron Spirits Company, RemyMartin, Nelson's Greenbrier Distillery, and Death's Door Spirits.

LIBERAL GROUPS PUSH HILL ON ELECTION REFORM: A group of liberal groups is out with a letter Wednesday urging Democratic Hill leaders to come to a consensus on a public financing elections bill. Currently, three different proposals are being considered — and the groups urged lawmakers to merge the bills into one proposal. At the heart of the bills is a proposal to create a system of publicly financed congressional elections. Bills have been introduced by Reps. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and David Price (D-N.C.). The groups — which include the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, MoveOn.org, Democracy For America, CREDO and others — support the Yarmuth and Sarbanes proposals, but they oppose the Price bill. That bill, they argue, does not do enough to incentive small donors. See the letter and signers here: http://bit.ly/1bw3Rrt

ELSEWHERE IN THE INFLUENCE WORLD:

Bloomberg urges big donors not to give to pro-gun Democrats, the New York Times reports. http://nyti.ms/19qvFB2

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